During the initial three-year period, the PRCTRC established the Office of Community Research and Engagement (OCRE) to implement its Community-Based Research Core. Establishing the OCRE within the PRCTRC has enabled us to establish and develop a robust, long-term commitment with our community involving bidirectional learning and priority setting between community organizations and academic researchers. The OCRE has successfully initiated a community-academic partnership developing mutual understandings about the community needs and the nature of translational research. The OCRE is housed in the Center for Sociomedical Research and Evaluation (CIES, its Spanish acronym), a unit of the University of Puerto Rico's School of Public Health, which has a longstanding tradition of conducting research in the community and involving the community in varying phases of research. The OCRE will continue to implement and enhance a two-way engagement infrastructure bridging research with community groups and organizations in Puerto Rico. Based on the accomplishments accrued during the initial period, we propose to continue operating the OCRE as the focal point for activities that link the research endeavors of the PRCTRC and its research partners and communities throughout Puerto Rico to increase interdisciplinary collaboration and translation of clinical research into practice. The overall goal of the OCRE as the Community-Based Research Core of this application is to reduce health disparities by engaging a broad spectrum of scientists and community partners in the clinical and translational research process, disseminating research findings, and stimulating the adoption of best practices and evidence-based interventions.
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